To Your Health
August, 2010 (Vol. 04, Issue 08) |
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So, what's the general rule? If you have any pain that is sharp, stabbing, or causes numbness, talk to your doctor immediately. If you have pain that lasts longer than two days and is dull or aching, talk to your doctor.
That said, most pain can be controlled while you exercise; if you keep the pain level below 50 percent of what you think is the worst pain possible, you are likely not hurting yourself.
That's important because most chronic conditions are made worse if you don't stimulate circulation in the affected area. For example, a major cause of chronic lower back pain is poor circulation; chiropractic manipulation and simple exercises help provide and restore normal function and circulation to the affected area. If you don't use it, you will lose it.
IV. Diet Pills Are Effective
They tell you that you can lose weight in just days by taking a diet pill. Let's look at how they work. Most are simple stimulants and result in elevated heart rates. Some also provide certain nutrients to stimulate the metabolism of fats, but here is the problem with providing chemicals to burn fat. The basic elements required to burn fat are a body temperature of 101 degrees internally, lots of oxygen, and various chemicals to allow the process to occur. Heat and oxygen don't come from a pill. It is critical that you have all of these together or the key will not open the lock. Instead, your body simply breaks down the excess and you dump it all out through waste products. Now that is an expensive mistake considering the price of those pills.
So, if you don't exercise and sweat (the key here is sweating), then you are not going to benefit from taking a diet pill. If you do exercise, the pill, if taken as directed, usually has a miniscule impact on overall weight reduction.
A pilot study that looked at individuals who trained with aerobic exercise using diet pills and those using coffee as a stimulant showed less than 1 percent difference in total weight loss after six weeks. Remember, you also have the benefit that coffee is the most powerful antioxidant known to man. [See "Coffee: Berry, Berry Good for You" in this issue for more information.]
V. Ab Machines Make Your Stomach Smaller
Do abdominal machines make your stomach smaller? In short, no! I'm not knocking ab machines (although some work better than others), but the truth is the body stores fat in specific places. An abdominal machine will develop the abdominal muscles, but if you have a layer of fat on top, your waist size will stay about the same. The same is true about abdominal exercises - they tone and tighten the underlying muscles, but if you don't burn the fat, your waist won't get much smaller. On the other hand, if you do metabolism-elevating, fat-burning exercise regularly, combined with a low-fat, sensible diet, you'll see that fat layer shrink without doing a single crunch or sit-up.
VI. Organic Foods Are Superior to Non-Organic Foods
OK, yes and no. Many people have odd concepts about organic foods. People pay three times as much for an item that is stamped ORGANIC. Studies show there is no significant difference in taste, and the basic nutritional qualities are essentially the same if both foods are raw. The real differences are that non-organic foods have been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals, and that organic foods are higher in naturally occurring trace minerals, which allows your body to absorb the nutrients better. That means you can eat less food and stay healthy.
Oddly enough, however, most people eat the same amount of food whether it's organic or non-organic, and let's keep in mind that rule number-one when it comes to weight loss is calories in versus calories out! You also might be surprised to know that a considerable amount of organic food is imported, and there is little to no regulation of that food. The best real organic food is grown by the Amish or in your own home garden.
